To Dread Holidays
by laeeyore93
Summary: Hermione has dreaded nearly every holiday for the past two years. Why does she blame one of our favorite red heads for her dread? And what does a certain tall, dark, and almost-handsome potions professor have to do with it?


**A/N: This is my story for the Twin Exchange March 2013. This is my first real attempt at a Harry Potter story, so I make no promises on it's quality. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome, as is anything else you would like to share in a review.**

**Pair: Hermione/Snape**

**Prompt: Quilt**

**Quote: "Fix it"**

**Theme: St. Patrick's Day**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and unfortunately I probably never will.**

March 17th fell on a Friday this year. She had barely survived the disaster that was Tuesday February 14th, but having both St. Patricks day and Valentines day on school days made her want to stay in bed with a quilt over her head until the whole disaster was over. Unfortunately, that was not an option for the Hogwarts transfiguration professor. So, on the morning of March 17th she slowly dragged herself out of bed and through her morning routine.

The dread of holidays during the school week was not a new development for the head of Gryffindor. She had dreaded them from the moment a certain red-headed twin had moved into the castle as the charms professor. Ever since George became a member of the staff four years ago, holidays had become a dangerous time to venture out of your rooms. You never knew what you might encounter in the halls as you attempted to reach your destination. Sometimes it was simply a hallway whose suits of armor had been charmed to sing whenever someone walked it, while others it was color changing that affected everyone who walked into a certain corridor. At first she smiled at the pranks that came out every holiday, but they soon lost their appeal.

* * *

_It was the second Valentines day that George had been on the staff that her appreciation for the pranks had disappeared. For the holiday that year George had charmed mistletoe into various shades of pink and hung it throughout the castle. (He figured the mistletoe deserved to be used more that just once a year, and a holiday to celebrate love deserved a tradition to make people kiss.) The pink mistletoe was everywhere, you could barely navigate the halls without getting caught under a sprig of it, and once you were under the mistletoe you were stuck there until someone of the opposite sex came and rescued you with a kiss. Or, as in the case of our heroine, accidently bumped into you and became stuck too._

_She had stuck to the secret passageways as much as possible that morning in hopes of having breakfast before she had to deal with whatever George had undoubtedly done to the rest of the castle. Unfortunately for her, George knew all the passageways and had filled them with the mistletoe just like the rest of the castle. She was over halfway to the Great Hall before she became stuck, and when she finally realized why she was stuck her first thought was that she would be stuck there all day as not many people knew about this passage. However, she wasn't left to panic for very long as within minutes she was rammed into from behind, and would have fallen to the floor if not for the enchantment sticking her to the spot. She was relieved to realize that what had rammed into he so abruptly was in fact a male body, meaning that she was saved!_

_"Miss Granger. What, may I ask, are you doing standing in the middle of the passage?"_

_Hermione's moment of excitement over being saved quickly turned to panic as she realized that the person now stuck under the mistletoe with her was none other than Severus Snape. Hermione stared up at the potions master, wondering what she should do. She would never admit it, but she had found Snape to be quite handsome since she had begun her tenure as transfiguration professor nearly seven years ago. And he was always good for an intellectual conversation, or more commonly an intellectual debate. She just wished he would stop calling her "Miss Granger"._

_"Miss Granger. If you have no intention of answering my question,would you move to let me by?"_

_"Sorry Professor Snape, but unfortunately I am rather stuck at the moment. It seems that for Valentines this year George has decided to dye mistletoe pink and hang it about the castle, and apparently he decided that keeping the traditional enchantments that disallow movement until the person trapped had been kissed would be a good idea as well."_

_"So I assume you would like a kiss then?"_

_"Well, considering that when you ran into me you became stuck under the enchantment as well, I would say a kiss might be beneficial to each of us."_

_"I see."_

_Next thing Hermione knew, his lips were on hers. Just a brief touch, barely enough to be counted as a kiss, and apparently the mistletoe agreed. As when Snape attempted to move he found he was still stuck._

_"Damn Weasley."_

_Hearing Snape muttering obscenities in conjunction with George's first or last name was nothing new to Hermione, however being pulled close to the potions master as he crashed his lips onto hers definitely was._

_The kiss was everything a girl dreams about having in a kiss, and as soon as her surprise wore off, Hermione found herself kissing back with an equal passion. However, all too soon, in Hermione's opinion, Snape pulled back, pushed Hermione to the side of the passage and stalked off._

* * *

Hermione had dreaded holidays since then, particularly those during the school week, as then she was forced out into the school to face whatever George had planned. If it were the weekend she could simply hid in her chambers until the day was over and it was safe to come out again.

She hadn't spoken to Professor Snape since that incident over two years ago. She wasn't sure what to say to him when she saw him next, but when he stalked away as soon as he noticed her she realized that maybe she wouldn't have to say anything to him at all.

* * *

The rest of the staff had noticed the sudden gap that appeared between the transfiguration and potions professors after Valentines day that year, but no-one put much thought into it, no-one but the charms professor that is. George had noticed the strange behavior of his colleagues, and had taken it onto himself to figure out just what had happened.

It took him a whole year to figure it out, but when Valentines day rolled around again and both the charms and potions professors canceled classes for the day when he knew that the were both in perfect health, George put the pieces together: they had run across some of his Valentines day mistletoe. And based on their careful avoidance of each other over the past year, it had been something more than just a quick peck on lips. George was started to realize that the most logical explanation was that they had feelings for each other.

Since his realization, George had made it his mission to use his holiday pranks to bring the two of the together. Yet somehow they always managed to avoid the traps he set for them. But not this time. This time he had recruited help. The entire staff was in on it this time. There was no way he could miss.

* * *

Hermione cautiously made her way out of her rooms and towards the Great Hall, watching her every step for whatever George had done this time. She made it to the Great Hall for breakfast without incident, although judging by the selection of leprechauns sitting at the various house tables, some of the students had not been quite so lucky. The rest of her day went by without incident, and as she walked towards her rooms after dinner Hermione was in a great mood. However when she reached the staff lounge and tried to walk to the door to her room she found she could not move.  
George walked in shortly after her, and ignored the fact that she was standing in the middle of the room as he walked to his favorite chair in the corner by the fireplace.

"George Weasley! I know you are responsible for this! Fix It!"

"Fix what my dear 'Mione?"

"Do you think I'm standing in the middle of the room by choice? NO! So undo whatever you did that stuck me here so I can go finish my grading!"

As Hermione was yelling at George, she failed to notice Professor Snape slinking into the room. He, however, did not fail to notice her and the predicament she found herself in. He watched in confusion as the usually calm Hermione began to panic. He had never seen her like this, and he'd been watching her for years, although after the Valentines day incident two years ago he had avoided her like the plague. He wished that he could help her, but with a two year gap in any sort of relationship they might have had, he wasn't sure what to do.

Hermione was in full-on panic mode. This could not be happening again. She had been so careful to avoid all of George's holiday pranks, why now? She wished she had just stayed hidden under her quilt like she wanted to.

George sat in his chair smirking at her like this was the best thing that had happened all year. It was perfect, she was stuck in the middle of the staff lounge and Snape was hiding in the corner watching her yell at him. All he needed to do now was get out of there, and quickly. As George stood up he hoped Minerva had done her part and the anti-apparation wards around the staff room had been taken down. She had. With a quick twist George was gone.

* * *

Hermione had closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, but when she opened her eyes to continue yelling at George, he wasn't there. She frantically turned the best she could with her feet stuck in one place, and couldn't find George anywhere. What she did find was Severus Snape standing in a corner looking quite like the kid who got caught with their had in the cookie jar. She stared at him for a moment wondering just how much of her yelling he had been around for.

"Hi."

"Hello."

"So... How have you been?"

"I've been fine. You?"

"Well, seeing as I'm currently stuck in the middle of the room unable to move... I've been better."  
"Ahh..."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence fell over the room as Snape stood in front of Hermione, looking at his feet. The silence was broken a few minutes later as Hermione's feet were suddenly unstuck and she was pushed forward by an invisible force. She toppled forward onto Snape with a force that knocked them both to the ground.

Severus looked up shocked to see Hermione lying on top of him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, before blinking and stuttering out an apology and attempting to roll off of him. His arms quickly came around her to keep her right where she was. She stopped moving suddenly and looked into his eyes again, her surprise evident.

"I don't mind being tackled by attractive young women."

Hermione pulled back to look into his eyes once again, shocked that Severus had just whispered such a thing in her ear. She opened her mouth to express that thought, but was quickly cut off by a pair of familiar lips crashing into hers. After the surprise wore off and Hermione began to kiss back, neither noticed the door to the staff lounge open and close.

* * *

Outside the door, George removed the disillusionment charm from himself, and turned to the crowd gathered there.

"Well?"

"Well, you might want to avoid going in there for a while. I think the potion we gave Severus might have been a bit strong."


End file.
